Happy to see Kuldeep getting wickets: Irfan Pathan
Jul 18, 2021
New Delhi [India], July 18 : Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan on Sunday said that it is a moment of happiness for him as Kuldeep Yadav is back among taking the wickets.
Pathan's comments came as Kuldeep took two wickets in the same over in the ongoing first ODI against Sri Lanka here at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
"Happiness is seeing @imkuldeep18 getting wickets. #wickettaker," tweeted Pathan.
Kuldeep Yadav first sent Rajapaksa (24) back to the pavilion and then in the very same over, Kuldeep had Minod (27) caught at the first slip and as a result, Sri Lanka was reduced to 89/3.
Over the past two years, Kuldeep has not had a great run with the ball and he has been in and out of the team. The ongoing ODI between India and Sri Lanka is the first time that both Kuldeep and Yuzvendra Chahal are playing in tandem for the first time since the 2019 World Cup game against England.
Ishan Kishan was handed his debut cap by captain Shikhar Dhawan while vice-captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar handed the cap to Suryakumar Yadav.
Dasun Shanaka-led Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat against India. India might have picked a plethora of young guns for the Sri Lanka series but the visitors will still start as favourites in the ODI series.
Despite the absence of star players such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah, India is well ahead of Sri Lanka considering the visitors' squad comprises of Dhawan, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar and Deepak Chahar.
India playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan(c), Prithvi Shaw, Ishan Kishan(w), Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav
Sri Lanka playing XI: Avishka Fernando, Minod Bhanuka(w), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Isuru Udana, Dushmantha Chameera, Lakshan Sandakan